As well as Smith, around 23 musicians were part of the Cardiacs over the years, including Smith's brother, Jim, and multi-instrumentalist, Sarah Cutts, who married Tim Smith in 1983.
Their music combined the excitement and energy of punk with the intricacies and technical cleverness of early British progressive rock, a combination sometimes referred to as pronk, although frontman Smith disavowed this classification.
Cardiacs released eight studio albums plus a number of live albums, compilation albums and singles between 1980 and 2007, and are best known for the 1988 minor hit single "Is This the Life?" They are also noted for attracting strongly diverse responses: they have remained one of Britain's leading cult rock bands during their four-decade-spanning career, but have also attracted virulent critical attack (including a lengthy editorial ban from the British music magazine New Musical Express).
On the 30th June 1990, Cardiacs played at Salisbury Arts Centre (a former church). The show was recorded and initially the video of it was released on VHS tape under the name "All That Glitters Is A Mare's Nest". The video helped Cardiacs achieve a cult following, with pirated copies of the video, being highly sought after. The audio from the show was released on CD in 1995.
The band was on hiatus following the 2008 hospitalisation of Tim Smith after a heart attack and series of strokes which affected his speech and movement.
Commenting on his condition, in 2017, Smith wrote: “Imagine if you were wearing a skintight bodysuit made of fishnet all around you, with electrical pulses going all the time. This is what my body feels like unless I fall asleep.”
In 2018, fundraising was set up for Tim Smith, which included the comment “This condition has affected Tim’s movement, his dexterity, his ability to speak, and it has added painful muscle tone and spasms that are a permanent feature of his life these days.”
On Tuesday 21st July 2020, at around 10.30 pm, Tim Smith passed away at his home, as a result of a heart attack.
Cardiacs final album, "LSD" remained unfinished at the time of Tim Smith's death. At the time of his death, Cardiacs still remained a cult following, their recordings were not, for example, available on Spotify. For many years there were few new copies of Cardiacs albums in circulation. Later on, re-releases became available on CD and then vinyl.
March
Cardiacs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To bless my heart and bless my soul
Leaving nerves for shor, 's only my lot
'S only my heart, 's only my hole
Everything I fear forever coming here
To bless my heart and bless my soul
Bless my front and rear and touch my part
Happier when head is high
Nearer sky 'cos high says I
Only one thing left inside
Pandora's box arrived inside and
Every dancing kind in me left
Leaving me
Happier when head is high
Nearer sky 'cos high says I
Only one thing left inside
Then Pandora's box arrived and
Every dancing kind in me left
Leaving me
It's only all my lot
Leaving my nerves for shot
'S only one thing left in th' insides
No-one free from fear
Leaving my parties uninvited anyway
Everything was fine inside
Then Pandora's box arrived
Soft and mellow sadness rised
Probed the bush like march
Except that fearful mind of mine
Packs up and carts off my fears
Treats like this no-one lives
All babies born like babies
Happier when head is high like is
Nearer sky 'cos high is mizz
Only one thing left in this
Every dancing kind in me left
Leaving me
Many are the same things
People invite would-be raiders
One more then back must fly
For casting out by neighbours
Grubs and insects all carry on
With their capers
In "March in 2-3," the singer seems to be grappling with their fears and anxieties. They say that everything they fear is "forever coming here" to haunt them, but also to bless them in a strange way. The singer refers to their heart and soul as being blessed, but at the same time, their nerves are shot and they feel a hole inside. The repetition of "that's my heart, yes that's my hole" seems to suggest that the singer is deeply connected to their own emotions, even when they are difficult to handle.
As the song progresses, the singer becomes fixated on the idea of being happier when their head is high and they are closer to the sky. The phrase "high says I" suggests a certain power dynamic to being at the top, but the singer also acknowledges that there is only one thing left inside of them. This line could be interpreted as a reference to the Pandora's box myth, which suggests that all the evils of the world came out of a single box. Indeed, the singer describes all the "dancing kind" inside them as having left, leaving them feeling empty.
Line by Line Meaning
Everything I fear forever coming here
All my fears are always present with me
To bless my heart and bless my soul
My fears consume and control me
Leaving nerves for shor, 's only my lot
Being anxious is my fate and all I have
'S only my heart, 's only my hole
My anxiety attacks and takes over my heart and soul
Bless my front and rear and touch my part
My fears overwhelm me entirely
Yes that's my heart, yes that's my hole
My anxiety attacks are a part of me and define me
Happier when head is high
I feel better when I am confident
Nearer sky 'cos high says I
Being confident makes me feel like I'm closer to the sky
Only one thing left inside
I feel like I have nothing left inside of me
Pandora's box arrived inside and
My anxiety has taken hold of me
Every dancing kind in me left
My joy and happiness have abandoned me
Leaving me
I feel lonely and abandoned
It's only all my lot
This is just how things are for me
Leaving my nerves for shot
My anxiety leaves me feeling emotionally drained
'S only one thing left in th' insides
I feel empty inside
No-one free from fear
Everyone experiences fear
Leaving my parties uninvited anyway
My anxiety prevents me from fully enjoying and participating in social activities
Soft and mellow sadness rised
My sadness grows and intensifies
Probed the bush like march
My emotions feel like they are marching all over me
Except that fearful mind of mine
My anxiety still controls my thoughts and emotions
Packs up and carts off my fears
I try to ignore and forget my fears
Treats like this no-one lives
No one can live a happy life like this
All babies born like babies
None of us are born with fear and anxiety, we develop them over time
Nearer sky 'cos high is mizz
Being anxious makes me feel like I'm farther away from the sky
Many are the same things
Many people experience similar issues
People invite would-be raiders
People make themselves vulnerable to their fears
One more then back must fly
We must face our fears and then retreat
For casting out by neighbours
We fear being judged and rejected by others
Grubs and insects all carry on
Life goes on despite our fears and anxieties
With their capers
Life goes on with its own twists and turns
Contributed by Gabriel M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
pogsquatch
Every Cardiacs song surprises me in one way or another.
Kitty!
A nice upload for the morning!
Void Eon
This song is the reason why I say "'s" instead of "it's".
AtomicCrimson
Hi not abc i hope you had a great christmas/ holidays and thanks for the upload :)
Not ABC
Thanks... hope your festive season has been fun too. I'm currently on a schedule of uploading every 4 days. Let's see how long it goes before I fail to deliver! ha